Avoiding problems with your case — Part 1

There are some situations which could raise the Embassy or USCIS’s suspicions about a person’s case (or eligibility for a visa or green card), triggering lengthy investigations and possible denials. This article discusses some suspicious situations.

1. Is the petitioner still alive?

Under immigration law, when a petitioner dies, so does the petition. After the petitioner dies, the beneficiary may still get notices from the NVC (who does not know the petitioner has died), fill out and submit forms, and pay visa fees. The beneficiary may want to go to the Embassy for their visa interview, and claim that their parent is still alive. This could constitute fraud. A person should not go for an interview and claim their dead petitioner is still alive. (Note: the law does allow the case to proceed even if the petitioner dies if: (1) a substitute sponsor submits an affidavit of support; and (2) humanitarian revalidation is granted by USCIS.)

2. Did the parent become a US citizen?

For Filipinos, it takes longer for a US citizen to petition a single adult child (over 21 years of age) than it does for a Filipino green card holder parent. Many Filipino parents did not realize this, and mistakenly took the oath of citizenship, thinking that naturalization would make it faster for their adult single child to get an immigrant visa. Unfortunately, just the opposite is true: becoming a US citizen sets the waiting time back many, many years. (Note: the law now allows the immigrant parent to become a US citizen, and the single child under petition can remain in the faster category for children of immigrants (F-2B).

3. Does the person really possess the education or skills for a job?

In order for a person to be petitioned for a temporary working visa (H-1B) or a green card through Labor Certification, it is necessary that the person have a college degree (in the case of H-1B) or be a college graduate or skilled/unskilled worker (in the case of Labor Certification) requiring some previous work experience. Some people do not possess the necessary education, experience, or skills. They sometimes go to Recto Street and buy diplomas or letters of experience. The Embassy knows about the Recto diploma mill, and will authenticate diplomas and/or letters of experience.

Conclusion

If you are not entitled to an immigration benefit and hope to "get away with it", you should be aware that the Embassy and USCIS are now very wise to the above circumstances, and many more. Please beware that you would not be the first person to be involved in any of the above situations. These situations have become so common in the Philippines, that they are now routinely investigated. In future articles, I will discuss more situations that could cause problems with your case.

However, if you are legitimately entitled to immigration benefits, but your case looks suspicious, you should consider the assistance of an attorney who can analyze your case, gather the necessary documents, and make a proper presentation on your behalf to the Embassy or USCIS, so that any questions, concerns, or suspicion will be properly explained. This way, you may be able to avoid delays, investigations, or possible denials of your visa.

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